Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez insists Paul Dummett is in his plans.

The 26-year-old has not featured since being forced off in the seventh minute of the opening-day defeat to Tottenham Hotspur with a hamstring problem.

“I was talking with my staff about him. People don't realise how important as a player he is until you lose the player," Benitez said of Wales international Dummett.

“He was doing well last season. He's a left-full-back, who is left-footed and who has always done well for us.

“He is someone who knows his job. He is not bad in the air, he is not bad with his left foot.

“People say: 'He needs to go to the byline and make crosses'. It doesn't matter: he can make passes, he can defend, he can help at set pieces.

“He is a player who will give you something different. Something we don't have already."

Meanwhile, former Newcastle defender Alessandro Pistone says he was forced to leave due to Ruud Gullit.

“We didn't like each other, but I never understood why," Pistone told PlanetFootball.com of Gullit during an in-depth interview.

“Generally speaking, I think he was a good coach, but when he arrived he picked up more than 10 players and cast them aside without a word.

“He left out [Alan] Shearer. Imagine that. In January I needed to play and there was an opportunity to join Venezia, but in a normal situation I would never have left Newcastle because I was living my dream."